More and more baby boomers are filing for divorce as they are living longer with higher expectations for what a good marriage really is. Bowling Green State University did a study that found the divorce rate for couples over the age of 50 has doubled in the last 20 years. Less than one in 10 who were divorce were 50 or older in 1990. Now, four out of every 10 are age 50 or older.
After 37 years of marriage, a couple who filed for divorce recently shared their story with CNN. Marrying young after meeting in college, they started to grow apart as the years went by. When the couple’s son had a baby, the wife went to live with him and his wife for eight months. During this time, the wife realized divorce was the best option for her and her husband. The husband agreed.
The couple is now divorce, but still gets along well. They even live down the road from each others. Choosing to have a collaborative divorce is at least part of the reason the former couple still gets along. In a collaborative divorce each party has their own lawyer, but a neutral mental health professional and a financial planner go through the divorce process. With the legal help of their lawyers, the couple created an agreement and a judge signed off on the paperwork.
The purpose of a collaborative divorce is to avoid a long courtroom fight by reaching a settlement. Even after 37 years of marriage, the couple was able to maintain a positive relationship with each other by choosing this route.
If you are interested in talking to an attorney about a collaborative divorce, you can contact us online or call us at 1-855-805-0595.
Source: CNN, “Baby boomer divorce rate doubles,” Greg Clary and Athena Jones, June 24, 2012
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